Runway 10R-28L was commissioned today at O’Hare following the implementation of the O’Hare Modernization Plan (OMP). The new runway at the south of the airfield, which aligns roughly with Irving Park Road, brings the number of east-west parallel runways to five.

While it is not disputed that O’Hare is a valuable economic engine of the state as well as the country—employing tens of thousands of Illinois residents—the resulting increase of noise due to the OMP and the new runway have and continue to negatively impact the residents of the 10th district.

While I acknowledge that the City of Chicago and the Federal Aviation Administration have listened to the concerns of O’Hare’s neighbors by hosting meetings between residents and aviation officials from the city and federal levels, their response has been insufficient to address the noise issue which has not disappeared.

I urge the CDA and FAA to re-evaluate this decade old plan to find how O'Hare can continue to thrive while bringing relief to its neighbors.

This decade old plan anticipated an increase to capacity and an increase in efficiency at the airport. Ultimately, the goal was to have six east-west runways and to eliminate the existing diagonal runways. To date, capacity has not increased and there has been little, if any, increase in efficiency at the airport. Recently, some have questioned the necessity of the sixth runway due to lack of increased capacity.

Common sense dictates that the decade old plan be re-evaluated because the assumptions that were part of the original plan turned out to be inaccurate. The existing diagonal runways should remain an option for solving the noise problem while the plan is being re-evaluated.

I am committed to working with officials at any level of government to ensure that the people’s voices aren’t drowned out by the jet noise. Residents want and deserve relief from the noise, and that’s what we should be working towards.